Flu

Chapter 22

Matheson closes his eyes and breathes in the scent rising from his borrowed N.Y.P.D. mug. "This really is incredible coffee. I think the bureau manual has a footnote saying that all the offices are allowed to serve nothing but sludge. If you keep a spoon in the stuff in D.C. too long, it turns black. Did somebody here hack the budget?"

Kate grins at her husband. "Not that I know of. Castle donated the machine when he first started hanging around the 12th."

"It was self-defense. What they had then tasted like a monkey peed in battery acid," Rick insists.

"Hmm," Matheson considers, "maybe when I get back to D.C., I'll take up a collection. Half of our white hats have 'It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion,' mugs."

"I've always liked Dune. If you're going to steal, you might as well steal from something good, although we writers prefer to call it inspiration," Castle quips.

L.T. leans his tall frame through the doorway of the break room. "Detective Beckett, the suspect's lawyer says she's ready to talk now."

Kate dumps what's left of her coffee in the sink and rinses her mug. "Here we go."

"My client has conditions," Greg McClellan announces.

Kate rolls her eyes as she retakes her seat. "Of course, she does."

"I want WITSEC, for Chris Carlucci and me," Rita proclaims. "I'll tell the feds what they need to know to seal their back doors and give you enough to bury Dino Scarpelli. I'll even tell you how to patch the hole in the N.Y.P.D. network, but Chris and I disappear. That's the deal."

Matheson drums his fingers on the table. "I'll need to clear it with at least one U.S. attorney."

"And I'll need to take it to the D.A.," Kate adds. "Carlucci's going to have to give us a lot to get added into your deal."

"He will," Rita asserts. "He has enough dirt on Dino to bury him ten times over."

"We'll see about that," Kate avers.

"And there's something else. While we're here, Chris and I share a cell, and you turn the cameras off," Rita requests.

Rick squeezes his eyes shut. "Ew!"

"I'll run that past my captain," Kate offers.

Eli rereads an email from Kate Beckett, not sure whether to celebrate or swear. If Rita and Chris Carlucci come through, the Scarpella family will suffer as bad a blow as the Cardanos did when the Old Man and his anointed successor were taken out of the game. On the other hand, the thought of letting Rita Coppolla and Chris Carlucci go unpunished turns his stomach. However, they'd not be the worst criminals ever to go into WITSEC, not by a longshot. Using them will also seriously obviate his need for testimony from Leo DeNuncio. At least the murderous arsonist will pay for his crimes, preferably in the dirtiest hole possible.

The A.D.A. grabs a legal pad to begin putting his thoughts together before taking them to his boss. Fortunately, the D.A. is usually gone by 7 p.m. Eli will still be able to make a showing at the Angelika with Lana. That should help wash the bad taste out of his mouth.

"Been quite a day," Rick remarks, plunking a deli bag on the table in the loft.

"Quite a day," Kate echoes, grabbing plates from the kitchen. "And this was also Alexis' last day at the lab with Osnitz, wasn't it?"

"Uh-huh. She was going into withdrawal this morning, and she still had the day to go. She'll probably push it to the limit and wander in later." Rick hears a key click in the door. "I stand corrected. Good thing, we bought enough food."

"When have you ever not bought enough food?" Kate teases.

"There was the time Mother brought home her whole theater company and, never mind. Hi, Pumpkin," Rick greets his daughter. "How was your grand exit?"

"It wasn't really an exit. Chief Osnitz says he'll have an internship open for me anytime I want one. Isn't that amazing?"

"It's quite an honor," Kate declares. "Osnitz isn't easy to impress. But then you did a great job. Your analysis work really made a difference in our case."

"Ooh, about your case," Alexis responds, "the chief will be sending you a report. Extracting the tea Sophie Conti left in Leo DeNuncio's hotel room was easy, because the poison, arsenic oxide, was meant to dissolve in water. He wouldn't have seen it or tasted it after brewing. Sophie's pillow mints were poisoned too, with ricin. It looked like she made it herself from castor beans."

"Very enterprising," Castle notes.

"And solid evidence of premeditation," Kate adds.

Alexis points to a container of bean salad. "I think I'll skip that."

"Yeah," Rick agrees, "me too."

The D.A. studies Eli's notes. "You'd better get this right, Douglas. A case like this can be a career-maker, but if you drop the ball, you'll be the joke of every cocktail party for a year. So, are you planning to squeeze everything you can out of Coppolla and Carlucci and then let the feds handle them?"

"That's the idea, Sir. If we cut off the head of the Scarpella family, we'll make a substantial dent in crime in this city. And what Rita can give the Cyber Force will be good for all of us."

Slowly stroking his jaw, dreams of a run for governor dance in the D.A.'s head. "Go for it, but I want updates, at least daily."

"Yes, Sir. Count on it."

"You look more like a kid in a candy store than a man in a movie theater," Lana observes, as she and Eli stand in line at the Angelika's concession stand.

"I'm getting the chance to get a lot of the bad guys off the street."

"That's always the mission, isn't it?" Lana queries, "to make the city a better, safer place?"

"Yes, it is," Eli confirms. "We're on the same page about that. Two large popcorns," he orders as they reach the counter, "extra butter."

"I think," Lana considers, "we're on the same page about a lot of things."

Kate snuggles into Rick's shoulder as he hits the remote to turn out the bedroom lights. "I'm glad that Montgomery vetoed Rita and Chris sharing a holding cell. I don't think I'd be able to get the image of that out of my head."

"You didn't think he'd agree, did you?" Rick questions.

"No, but I promised to take it to him. I had to keep my word."

Rick presses his lips to her hair. "That's one of the things I love about you. Even when something is disturbing, and the idea of those two making whoopie in one of those cells is very disturbing, you follow through."

"So do you. You supported what Alexis wanted to do even if you weren't crazy about her spending all that time in the crime lab."

"She's 16. It's summer. I would rather have seen her out having fun with her friends – as long as it wasn't too much fun."

"She was having a blast with Osnitz," Kate points out.

"Which in itself is slightly disturbing, but I'm proud she's found her passion. Just think about it. This loft will be home to a crime-busting clan. You and I will investigate the evidence, and Alexis will analyze it. Our family adventures could be the basis for a whole new series of books, maybe teen-rated."

"There are some things you might have to tone down for that audience," Kate points out.

Rick turns toward Kate, pulling her into the curve of his body. "Just as long as we never tone down anything between us."